1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an installation for making electrical connection between an assembly of items of electrical equipment which are fixed onto a common baseplate and connected to a printed circuit housed in this baseplate and a command and control system for this equipment assembly, the installation comprising an electrical interface device which provides the connection for the signal from the equipment with a signal linkage connected to said system.
2. Discussion of the Background
It is known to group together items of electrical equipment, such as for example circuit breakers and contactors intended to create a motor starter, on a common base plate in order to simplify the assembly and wiring operations, and in addition, in order to facilitate the connection of said assembly of equipment to a command and control system, such as a process controller. The baseplate houses a printed circuit fitted with connectors and conductive tracks which provide the interconnection of the pieces of equipment one to the other and the external connection of said equipment with the command and control system. Consequently a part of the printed circuit comprises the electrical interface device that provides the external connection. The interface device comprises a usual multi-point connector when the signal linkage with the system is a lead of inputs and outputs from the controller and, when the linkage is an area bus, it comprises a connector suited to the type of bus and a unit fitted with an electronic processing device for the communication of information on the bus.
The electrical interface device differs therefore according to the type of signal linkage chosen. A different printed circuit and consequently a different equipment assembly baseplate is required for each choice of linkage.